WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The war is over, but the work for U.S. military personnel coordinating the transfer of thousands of Afghan evacuees is not.
Four U.S. military bases in Europe are providing the initial landing places for the refugees, once they leave Afghanistan.
So far, they have processed 155 inbound aircraft and 38,500 Afghan refugees.
It's part of Operation Allies Refuge, the largest airlift in U.S. Air Force history.
Service members from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and other surrounding bases, are providing support to the women and children, processing the paperwork for them, providing food and drinks, and conducting COVID-19 screenings before the Afghans depart to the United States for permanent resettlement.
"On the ground at this very moment, we have 12,000 Afghan evacuees at the Ramstein Air Basse in Germany, 5,000 evacuees at Rein Ordnance Barracks in Germany, 2,500 evacuees at the Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, and 1,800 Afghan evacuees at Naval Station Rota in Spain," said Gen. Tod Wolters, Commander U.S. European Command.
Wolters said the Afghans arriving from intermediate staging bases in the Middle East, such as Qatar, twice undergo background checks: once upon arrival at bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain, and again a few days later before they board flights to the United States.
These checks include fingerprinting and retina scans, which are matched against immigration, law enforcement, and counterterrorism databases, he said.
Only one of the evacuees has raised serious enough concerns to warrant being turned over to the authorities for further investigation.
Wolters said the one Afghan, whom he did not identify, had been placed in the custody of authorities for further investigation but did not represent “a high threat.”
Wolters said 58 other Afghans were now undergoing additional screening but that he expected them all to be cleared.
Wolters said he expected about 500 to 600 Afghans to arrive in Europe each day for the next few days.
The number of Afghans leaving for the United States, after a stay at bases in Europe of up to 10 days, will grow to 2,500 to 3,000 people per day, he said.
Wolters said the work is "intense," but, "the mission must go on."